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The prices of fly ash bricks are likely to increase by 20-25 paise per brick because of the hike in cement prices.

"Each fly ash brick used to cost Rs 1.50-Rs 2.00 a year ago. But the manufacturers were forced to raise its price to Rs 2-Rs 3 each recently. In view of rising cement prices, it has again become inevitable to increase fly ash brick prices," N Kalidas, president, Fly Ash Building Material Manufacturers Association (FABMAS), and director, Institute of Solid Waste Research and Ecological Balance (INSWAREB), told Business Standard.

Andhra Pradesh alone contributes about 40 per cent of six billion fly ash bricks being manufactured by 3000 small and tiny industries in the country. There are 1200-1300 small-scale units producing 2.4-2.5 billion bricks in the state.

Kalidas said if the Centre allowed corporate and mid-corporate companies to manufacture fly ash bricks, the prices would come down.

According to him, India generates about 150 million tonnes of fly ash every year. But only about 30 million tonnes are being utilised in the manufacture of building materials such as brick and blocks, while 120 million tonnes are going untapped.